THE CITY AND SUBUBBS. 
149 
tectural beauty, imparting a most stylish appearance 
to the city. 
This most truly wonderful country, with its 
enormous wealth, is enabled to devote annually 
nearly one-third of its revenue raised by taxation 
to aid public instruction ; a fact, I believe, without 
parallel elsewhere. Grants are annually made to 
public schools, universities, libraries, picture-galleries, 
and museums, to schools of art and mining, and to 
various literary and scientific institutions. 
The universities and colleges are found with 
talented professors on their staff in the varied 
branches of science. Museums and national galleries 
are filled with interesting specimens of local and 
world-wide fame, and paintings of the highest 
merit ; the free libraries, with thousands of volumes 
on their shelves, are open to all comers. How 
proud, then, are the residents of this Greater 
Britain of their institutions ; and well they are 
justified in their pride. 
The Botanic Gardens, well stocked with all that is 
beautiful in flowers, plants, ferns, and lovely trees, 
are of themselves a perfect paradise of science to 
those interested in botanical studies. 
The suburbs, including Richmond, Brighton, and 
St. Kilda, are very lovely spots : the foliage, the 
charming villa residences, with glimpses here and 
there of the bright blue sea, all tend to complete 
this pretty picture ; while away in varied directions 
